Last week we spoke about the benefits and detriments of advertising spoofs and parodies. This high quality parody, although a complete reversal of the Dove commercial, has a positive effect. Dove is still pitched because the humor is lost without the original. I hope that parodies will continue exist in the advertising world. In my opinion, these spoofs only lessen the advertising costs as audiences become more and more fragmented.

This commercial drew me in because it is about the baseball player Roger Clemens. I chose this commercial because it plays on how Clemens came out of retirement last year, and the events that led up to it. This ad is an exaple of ambiguity. Clemens wife does not want him to come out of retirement, but bcecause of the dropped call, Clemens and teamates are celebrating because he thought she was speechless.

So this ad is particularly funny to me after we talked about degrading women in class today and whether or not it is okay. When I first saw this commercial, I was mad because I was like “so typical…a beer commercial objectifying women as extremely sexual objects.” I don’t want to ruin the commercial for people who haven’t seen it, but I think it is funny how they ended up completing the commercial. The commercial kept me watching because I kept thinking, wow, how much longer is this going to continue. It is funny to take a stereotype and poke fun at it, and I think it works well for this company.

Do people like this or is this only adding to the problem of degrading women?

When I first saw this ad, I had no clue what this commercial was going to be about. Women were using metal objects during a lightning storm, purposefully trying to get struck by lightning. Were they crazy? However, the ad caught my attention even more when the fact was displayed that men are struck by lightning four more times then women. I think this was a great strategy in grabbing the consumer’s attention during the commercial because this fun fact is something I will remember; not only will I remember it but I will remember Mountain Dew. Overall, I’m impressed with Mountain Dew’s new campaign for pushing the envelope that much more. This ad was hilarious and it’s another reason why I’m thankful to be a woman.

Today in class, we briefly discussed stereotypes and offensiveness in advertisements. When advertisers use these strategies they can offend a certain group in the population. In my first advertisement is a television commercial for Klondike, which stereotypes men. I am not an advocate for men’s rights, but I don’t find this commercial humorous and it turns me off to the brand. When does stereotyping become too much. I’d also like to note that this ad is a 15 second spot and was followed by another 15 second ad by Klondike with the same male stereotype. Is it me or is this commercial bad?

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I wanted to use this second advertising to talk about offensive advertising. This ad was taking down after a ton of people found it offensive. Most believe the image depicts rape and violence towards women. The woman is in a submissive position and there are five men around her ready to take advantage of her. In my opinion, even though Dolce & Gabbana are known for their risque advertisements, I think this one crosses the line. What do you think?

I just love this ad. I admire creativity of a person who came up with this idea. I guess I’m a fan of beer commercials in general, but this one may be my favorite. I like how this ad doesn’t really propose any features or benefits of the product to the consumer. Instead, this ad just seems to be a desperate call for action, and it’s hilarious. Also, I love the choice of music for this ad. It catches attention, and the content, which is so twisting and unpredictable, manages to maintain this attention until the end. It would definitely sell me some beer.

How do you participate?
First, you should email content to Professor Sheehan. What exactly it is content? It is an ad that you found online (such as a YouTube video), a posting on a blog relevant to advertising, a news story about advertising or another class topic, anything that strikes you as being something you'd like to share with the class. I'll post your content and give you credit. Second, you should read the postings and comment on them. Anyone can comment.
Check the syllabus for specific requirements in terms of number of postings and deadlines, and number of comments and deadlines.
Also, keep an eye out for items that may be on an exam!